This book was a good sequel to Tinker, but not as great. I really was not that enraptured by the idea of using the Wizard of Oz as a template for this book. It seemed that Spencer tried a little too hard to make it work, linking events and characters to the old classic.

I also thought it focused too heavily on Tinker for this book to be called "Wolf Who Rules". I wish we were able to see more behind him, rather than advance the plot through Tinker and her companions.

It is good to see the exploration of other side characters though. Little Pony is fantastic, Impatience is also brilliant as a dragon.

I love this world, though. And I love that Tinker is not just another love-sick female that can't manage to do anything but be saved. So this is still a good book and a great series. ( )

I gave a rave review for "Tinker" and continue to do so for "Wolf Who Rules". I did find it somewhat funny that Ms. Spencer decided to call the book after Wolf, as there is actually very little of his presence in the book. He is mostly playing politics throughout the book, until the end, when you finally get to know a bit more about him, and come to realize just how special he really is, given the society in which he was raised. He is developing to be a truly good and kind person, and I like that - a LOT.

***********SPOILERS ALERT************************************

Tinker herself learns a lot more about her family in this edition. Unlike some of the reviewers, I really, really liked the Alice references, AND the dream sequences. Dreams have often been a huge part of fantasy, as well as aural and mythological history. Ms. Spencer's grasp of mythology and history are excellent, and utilizing the dreaming sequence to develop the Tengu characters, as well as the space scene was, in my estimation, some of her best work in this book.

Tinker has had to learn an incredible amount, incredibly quickly. Ms. Spencer is developing her relationships with the new people in her life slowly, while allowing her to learn from her mistakes, and take more time thinking before she 'jumps'. This should stand her in good stead as she chooses her own Hand. I also love how Ms. Spencer has brought Tinker so close to Discord and Pony. Pony is entirely loveable, loyal, and dedicated - honestly, my favorite character besides Tinker. Discord is right up there with him, a perfect foil for Tinker's tough yet gentle persona. It will be interesting to see whom else Tinker chooses for her Hand. I am thinking Cloudwalker, but we shall see. THANK GOODNESS she can turn down Blade - what an ASS.

The situation with the Tengu, in my estimation, could not have been handled better. Unlike other writers whom I could mention (do NOT get me started on Hamilton's Anita Blake series . . . grrrrr) Spencer doesn't have her heroine offer protection to others, then go out of her way to make her leave her protectees hanging out to dry! (Oh, Please oh, Please oh, PLEASE Ms. Spencer, don't let that happen in Elfhome!) I also look forward to Wolf and Tinker, as well as the other elves and the Tengu, protecting the oni halfbreeds and the humans who were so brutalized by the oni. Kill the oni? Oh, Hell Yes! But a child is not their parent, and shouldn't be punished for the horrors and brutalities they have been forced to survive. There is a point, near the end of the book, where Wolf is rescued by a half-oni (I won't say whom, so it won't totally ruin things for you if you haven't read the book and still read this review) in which these lines are said: "Wolf had never considered that the half-oni wold think of themselves as human. How could he refute the difference that mind-set made in a person? . . . If the half-oni had the capacity for human compassion, then it had to be logical that they could be revolted by the oni's lack of it." I LOVE that series of lines. They set out, in three sentences, what I feel is the whole point of the difference between Wolf and the other elves. Wolf can see, truly See, that there IS a difference - that just because you are born of a monster and a human, that does not automatically make you a monster.

Hooray for Ms. Spencer for her insight, and for allowing her main characters to grow, learn, and use their strengths to protect the weak. Hooray, hooray, hooray!

I also hope we see more of Oilcan in the next book. He is a very special human being, with unique talents of his own, and his relationship with Tinker has been shown somewhat, but I would really like to see him have a bigger part in future books, as well as Lain and some of the other characters that we have met, and not yet truly come to know. Love it, love it, love it. Off to the shopping cart to buy my copies, and a preorder for "Elfhome", then am going to curl up in bed and re-read starting with the first page of "Tinker". I don't need no stinkin' sleep! LOL ( )

I gave a rave review for "Tinker" and continue to do so for "Wolf Who Rules". I did find it somewhat funny that Ms. Spencer decided to call the book after Wolf, as there is actually very little of his presence in the book. He is mostly playing politics throughout the book, until the end, when you finally get to know a bit more about him, and come to realize just how special he really is, given the society in which he was raised. He is developing to be a truly good and kind person, and I like that - a LOT.

***********SPOILERS ALERT************************************

Tinker herself learns a lot more about her family in this edition. Unlike some of the reviewers, I really, really liked the Alice references, AND the dream sequences. Dreams have often been a huge part of fantasy, as well as aural and mythological history. Ms. Spencer's grasp of mythology and history are excellent, and utilizing the dreaming sequence to develop the Tengu characters, as well as the space scene was, in my estimation, some of her best work in this book.

Tinker has had to learn an incredible amount, incredibly quickly. Ms. Spencer is developing her relationships with the new people in her life slowly, while allowing her to learn from her mistakes, and take more time thinking before she 'jumps'. This should stand her in good stead as she chooses her own Hand. I also love how Ms. Spencer has brought Tinker so close to Discord and Pony. Pony is entirely loveable, loyal, and dedicated - honestly, my favorite character besides Tinker. Discord is right up there with him, a perfect foil for Tinker's tough yet gentle persona. It will be interesting to see whom else Tinker chooses for her Hand. I am thinking Cloudwalker, but we shall see. THANK GOODNESS she can turn down Blade - what an ASS.

The situation with the Tengu, in my estimation, could not have been handled better. Unlike other writers whom I could mention (do NOT get me started on Hamilton's Anita Blake series . . . grrrrr) Spencer doesn't have her heroine offer protection to others, then go out of her way to make her leave her protectees hanging out to dry! (Oh, Please oh, Please oh, PLEASE Ms. Spencer, don't let that happen in Elfhome!) I also look forward to Wolf and Tinker, as well as the other elves and the Tengu, protecting the oni halfbreeds and the humans who were so brutalized by the oni. Kill the oni? Oh, Hell Yes! But a child is not their parent, and shouldn't be punished for the horrors and brutalities they have been forced to survive. There is a point, near the end of the book, where Wolf is rescued by a half-oni (I won't say whom, so it won't totally ruin things for you if you haven't read the book and still read this review) in which these lines are said: "Wolf had never considered that the half-oni wold think of themselves as human. How could he refute the difference that mind-set made in a person? . . . If the half-oni had the capacity for human compassion, then it had to be logical that they could be revolted by the oni's lack of it." I LOVE that series of lines. They set out, in three sentences, what I feel is the whole point of the difference between Wolf and the other elves. Wolf can see, truly See, that there IS a difference - that just because you are born of a monster and a human, that does not automatically make you a monster.

Hooray for Ms. Spencer for her insight, and for allowing her main characters to grow, learn, and use their strengths to protect the weak. Hooray, hooray, hooray!

I also hope we see more of Oilcan in the next book. He is a very special human being, with unique talents of his own, and his relationship with Tinker has been shown somewhat, but I would really like to see him have a bigger part in future books, as well as Lain and some of the other characters that we have met, and not yet truly come to know. Love it, love it, love it. Off to the shopping cart to buy my copies, and a preorder for "Elfhome", then am going to curl up in bed and re-read starting with the first page of "Tinker". I don't need no stinkin' sleep! LOL ( )

Wikipedia in English

The popular fantasy novel Tinker introduced the inventor-heroine of the same name, who lives in a near-future Pittsburgh, which shares an interdimensional border with the land of the elves. In this sequel, Wolf Who Rules, the elven noble whose destiny is intertwined with Tinker, finds himself besieged from all sides. Viceroy and head of the Wind Clan, he had been able to guarantee the safety of everyone in his realm, but faced with an oni invasion, he has had to call in royal troops and relinquish his monopoly of Pittsburgh, which is now entirely stranded on Elfhome. He now struggles to keep the peace between the humans, the newly arrived Stone Clan, the royal forces, a set of oni dragons, the half-oni children who see themselves as human, and the tengu trying to escape their oni enslavement. Meanwhile, Tinker strives to solve the mystery of a growing discontinuity in Turtle Creek. She's plagued with inexplicable nightmares that may hold the keys to Pittsburgh's future. The only clue from the Queen's oracle to help Tinker is a note with five English words on it: Follow the Yellow Brick Road. Oni, and dragons and tengu – oh my!

(retrieved from Amazon Mon, 30 Sep 2013 13:41:37 -0400)

▾Library descriptions

"Viceroy and head of the Wind Clan, Wolf Who Rules had been able to guarantee the safety of everyone in his realm, but faced with an invasion of dragons, he has had to call in royal troops and relinquish his monopoly of Pittsburgh, which is stranded on Elfhome. He now struggles to keep the peace between the humans, the newly arrived Stone Clan, the royal forces, a set of oni dragons, the half-oni children who see themselves as human, and the tengu trying to escape their oni enslavement." "Meanwhile, Tinker, pretty adolescent, mechanical genius, and lover of an elflord under siege, strives to solve the mystery of a growing discontinuity in Turtle Creek. She's plagued with inexplicable nightmares that may hold the keys to Pittsburgh's future. Her only hope, a five word message: Follow the Yellow Brick Road!"--BOOK JACKET.… (more)